What Hurts the Most
by Darkbring3r
Summary: It's been a decade since everyone has graduated Beacon Academy. Everyone now has their own life. Some are working as teachers, and some, like Ren and Nora, have even settled down and got married. But now, Ren is gone, and Nora is left to pick up the pieces of her life without him. OneShot.


**Just a quick thing here. I'm not actually sure if a 'T' rating is suitable for this, as 'M' might be more appropriate, due to dark themes, but I wasn't sure. If any of you think I should change the rating, please tell me. I would hate for the story to get taken down because of something like that. So before you read this, take that into account. Thanks in advance.**

* * *

A loud groan and the sound of a clock being smashed against a wall radiated throughout the small, dark apartment. _"Great… morning already."_ A small woman sat up in her bed and shivered slightly, which made her pull her blankets around her. _"Wow… it's pretty cold today."_

She slipped out of bed, but kept the blankets wrapped around her like a makeshift robe. She slowly walked across the cold, hardwood floor, until she was standing next to a large mirror. Her eyes drifted to it and she studied her reflection.

Her bright, orange hair drifted down her shoulders and stopped just above her chest. Some of her hair was also nearly standing straight up in some places, which caused her to glare at her mirror-self. It was a ridiculous case of bedhead. _"God, I'm a mess."_ She hung her head and trudged to the bathroom.

She dropped her blanket just outside of the doorway and stepped inside. She walked over to another mirror and stared at her reflection once again. She placed a finger on the skin under her eyes and gently pulled it down. _"I've gotta start sleeping more."_

The woman turned around and made her way across the bathroom to her shower. Just as she started to turn on the water, her scroll rang. She begrudgingly made her way back to her bed and stopped at a table by the side of it. She reached down and looked at who had the nerve to call her. _"I guess it was only a matter of time until someone called..."_

She brought the scroll up to her ear and answered quietly to hide her exhaustion. "Hello?"

" _ **Hi, Nora… how are you holding up?"**_

The redhead sighed and closed her eyes. "Hey, Jaune. I'm… okay. Did you need something?"

" _ **I know you probably don't want to talk to anyone right now, but I need to know what time you're gonna show up today."**_ Jaune's voice carried a hint of concern.

Nora threw a few remaining sheets on her bed to the side and sat down on the edge of the mattress. "I'm not sure. It's just… These last few days have been hard, you know?"

" _ **Yeah. Well, do you wa-"**_

Jaune was interrupted by Nora yawning. "Sorry, I'm still kinda tired."

" _ **Do you want me to come over there?"**_

Nora shook her head, even though Jaune couldn't see it. "No, I'll be fine." The blonde man knew she was lying. He didn't need to see her tear-stained pillow or the state of disarray her apartment was in to figure it out.

" _ **Nora, are you sure?"**_

The young girl's tone grew stern. "Yes, I'm sure."

" _ **Okay, if you say so."**_

"Is there anything else you need to know?"

" _ **No, that's it."**_

Part of Nora wanted to cry, but she held her tears at bay while she was in a call. She hated people seeing her act weak. She leaned back on her bed until she was laying down and let out a long breath. "Look, I might not be up for being around a big group of people today, even if it is all of you guys. I'll head up there in my own time."

" _ **Are you sure? We can wait around until you're ready if you want us to."**_

Nora sat up and held her scroll in front of her face. "No, I don't want that. Goodbye." She heard Jaune start to say something, but silenced him with the big, red button at the bottom of her scroll. She realized quickly how rude she had just been, but she didn't care at the moment. She threw her scroll to the headboard of her bed and put her face in her hands.

She laid back down on her back, then rolled to her side and curled up into a ball. She then pulled her sheets towards her and began to softly cry into them, before falling back to sleep.

* * *

The young woman woke to the sound of her scroll going off again. She crawled towards her headboard and started to move several layers of sheets. " _Come on, where are you?"_ After searching for a few moments, she found it tucked between the headboard and her mattress.

She picked it up and slowly turned it over, scared to see who was calling her this time. As she stared at the picture, a wave of relief washed over her. _"Finally,"_ she thought. _"Someone that understands."_

She pushed the green talk button and cleared her throat. "Hey, Ruby."

" _ **Hey, Nora. How are you?"**_

"I'm… I'm fine."

Ruby scoffed. _**"Is that right? How bad is your apartment?"**_

Nora chuckled lightly, then sniffled. "It's pretty bad, I'm not gonna lie."

" _ **Well, look, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I know this isn't easy for you."**_

The redhead closed her eyes and swallowed dryly. "Yeah, it's not..."

" _ **Are you eating?"**_

"Not today. At least, not yet, anyway."

She could hear Ruby sigh on the other end of the call, and could almost see the scythe wielder rolling her eyes, but at least she knew what she was going through. Out of everyone she knew, no one knew the pain of loss more than Ruby Rose. _**"That's not good, Nora."**_

Nora pulled her sheets up and pulled them over her head, the light from her scroll being the only thing she could see. "I know, I know… I just-"

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, so she closed them. She wished that the blankets around her would act as a barrier against all of the problems of the world. In her mind, all she needed was sleep, food… and _him_. "… Ruby."

" _ **Yeah?"**_

"I-" She choked on her words. Tears were starting to stream down her face and her mouth was getting dry. "I think I have to go."

" _ **I understand. Call if you need anything."**_

"T-thank you."

" _ **No problem. Goodbye."**_

The call ended, but Nora didn't bring her scroll away from her ear. She sat still, and simply let the tears fall from her face onto her lap. _"… What am I supposed to do?"_

Her stomach growled, but she tried her best to ignore it. She didn't want food right now. At least, she didn't think she did. Right now, she wasn't entirely sure what she wanted. Every fiber of her being just wanted to stay in bed for the rest of time, and slowly drift away. But she would never do that. It's not what _he_ would have wanted.

Nora's mind raced as she tried to think of something, anything, that would get her mind off of everything that was happening. She finally mustered the energy to stand up, so she pushed the sheets off herself and got out of her bed.

Then, she walked into the bathroom and turned on the water in the shower. _"I guess this is as good a time as any."_ She quickly disrobed herself and stepped into the stall. The warm water cascading over her body eased some of her pain, so she leaned further into it. She placed her hands on the wall and positioned herself in a way that the water ran down her back.

She let out a content sigh as the water warmed her up. _"I guess it was colder than I thought."_

A few minutes went by, and she placed one foot on to the chilly tile floor of her bathroom, almost slipping in the process. She caught herself, however, and wrapped a towel around her torso, then made her way back to her bedroom for a change of clothes.

As she approached her dresser, she felt a wave of nausea rush over her. She stumbled and propped herself up by firmly planting her hand on a wall next to her. She was ready to puke, but nothing happened. As she started to walk away, a small amount of bile worked its way up her throat. She quickly ran to a trash can and spit it out.

The taste was sour, and it burned. She wiped her mouth with her arm and glanced at her dresser. _"Okay, drink first, then clothes."_

She walked into her kitchen and looked around. It was empty and quiet. Both were things that she hated. It was always nice when _he_ was here. They used to have team dinners once a month. _He_ would start cooking, then everyone would join in as they showed up. By the end of the night, they had always cooked way too much food.

The leftovers were nice, but they always went bad before they were eaten. She shook her head in an attempt to get the memory out of her head and walked to her fridge. She opened it up and reached for the first drinkable liquid she saw. She didn't care what it was, as long as it would get the awful taste of vomit out of her mouth.

She lifted the bottle to her lips and took a large swig of its contents. After a second, she pulled the bottle away from her face and coughed violently. _"What the hell? That made it even worse!"_ She turned the bottle around and mentally slapped herself. _"Of course… whiskey."_

She stuck out her tongue and gagged a little. She reached back into the fridge and grabbed something she was positive would be better. Milk. She took a large drink out of the bottle and brought it away from her mouth with a 'pop'.

" _That's better. Who puts whiskey in the fridge anyway? Ugh, it was probably Yang the last time she was here."_ Nora placed the milk back into the fridge and started to make her way back to her room. She hated how quiet her apartment was. It was a fairly big space. It was almost big enough to be considered a house. It was a gift from Weiss when she married _him_.

She loved it for the longest time, but now it was just so… dead. The only sounds in the place were ones made by her. If she stayed here much longer, she was going to go insane. She walked over to her dresser and pulled out one of the drawers. She then pulled out a set of clothes, but stopped for a second when she saw what was underneath them.

" _Well, I thought I got rid of that old thing. How have I not seen it until now?"_ She looked around the room and quickly realized why. She never really did the laundry. _He was_ always the one that did it. However, it had now been close to a week since any had been done. _"I guess it was just always buried under the clean clothes..."_

She sat the clothes that were tucked under her arm on top of the dresser and reached into the drawer. She lifted out the old outfit and stared at it. Her once pink skirt had now faded and was almost gray. Her old top wasn't much better. The tough, white fabric had grown darker and cracked in a few places, and the small, metal pieces had small patches of rust on them.

"… _That was a long time ago..."_ The memories were quickly pushed from her mind, and she placed the outfit back into the drawer. She took her towel off and quickly changed into the other set of clothes.

Once she was dressed, Nora walked over to the large mirror that hung on her bedroom wall. She looked over her outfit several times. _"Something isn't right with this."_ Suddenly, she had an idea.

She walked back over to her dresser and picked up a small box that had been sitting on top of it. She opened it carefully and stared into it. Inside the box was a small, pink, lotus-flower.-shaped pendant. She picked it up and pinned it to her shirt. _"He always liked it when I wore this..."_

She pinned the flower to the black blouse that she was now wearing, just under her left shoulder. She walked back to the mirror and studied herself. The lotus was the only source of color in the outfit.

She was wearing a solid black blouse and a skirt of the same color. The blouse covered up the top of the skirt so well, it almost looked like a dress. She was also wearing a large, black hat, black gloves, and black high heels. _"This is just depressing to look at. That whiskey doesn't seem like such a bad idea now."_

After she decided that the outfit was as good as it was going to get, she picked up her scroll. She looked through her contacts until she came to the name she was looking for. She selected the name, then hit the bright, green 'call' button.

It rang several times, then a voice answered. _**"Nora?"**_

"H-Hey, Ruby."

" _ **What's up? Did you need something?"**_

"Are you guys… Did you make it to the..." Nora couldn't bring herself to finish the question, but she didn't have to. Ruby knew what she wanted to say.

" _ **No, we're not there yet."**_

"Okay… how far away are you?"

" _ **Uh… I think I'm about ten minutes out. Do you want someone to come pick you up? I can swing by real quick."**_

"No… I just..."

Ruby sighed. _**"You just want to be alone, but surrounded by people at the same time, right?"**_

"Yeah… Does that make sense?"

" _ **Maybe not to most people, but it does to me. I know exactly how you feel right now."**_

Nora sat down on her bed and took a deep breath. "Ruby… can I ask you something?"

" _ **Anything, shoot."**_

The redhead sighed, brought a hand up, and rubbed her eyes. "How did you, y'know, cope?"

" _ **When?"**_

"When..." Nora knew that the last tragedy that befell Ruby happened long ago, but she wasn't sure how Ruby felt about the subject. "What did you do when…" Nora took another deep breath and continued. "When you lost Weiss?"

" _ **Oh..."**_ The conversation grew stagnant, neither one of them quite sure what to say. Nora heard Ruby clear her throat, then speak up. _**"Well, I honestly don't remember that very well. That was a… dark time in my life. I think I blocked a lot of it out. I did things that I wouldn't do now, even if the same thing happened again. I know I got drunk a lot, but I wouldn't recommend that."**_

Nora closed her eyes. "Well, that honestly sounds pretty tempting… I even have some whiskey in my kitchen. I'm pretty sure your sister left it here."

Ruby groaned. _**"That figures. Leave it to her to forget to take the alcohol from one of the last places it should be."**_

"It's fine, I probably won't even touch it. You know I've never really liked that stuff. I drank some earlier, but it was by accident."

" _ **What? How did you manage that?"**_

"It's… I don't know. I just wanted something to drink. I didn't really care what it was."

" _ **Alright, fair enough. So, what do you want to do?"**_

Nora raised an eyebrow questioningly. "What do you mean? I just asked you how you coped, so that maybe I-"

" _ **Trust me. What do you want to do? Not like, go out to a movie or play video games. What do you want to do right now, this very moment?"**_

A single tear trailed down Nora's cheek. "I want to see him again..."

" _ **Now, we both know that something like that's not possible, right?"**_

"Y-Yeah..."

" _ **So, what would be the closest way to make that happen?"**_

"… To meet up with you gu-"

" _ **No, something besides that."**_

Nora was confused. "I don't know… I have some of his old clothes… but I don't think I can look at them."

" _ **You might think that, but you would be surprised. Seeing something like that could help give you closure. Once we're all gone, I'll give you a call and let you know, okay? That way, you can head down here whenever you're ready."**_

"Okay..."

" _ **Promise me that you'll do it. It will help."**_

"I promise..."

" _ **Good."**_

Nora went to hang up the call but stopped herself. "Oh, and Ruby?"

" _ **Hm?"**_

"Tell Jaune… I'm sorry. I snapped at him earlier. I just… I didn't..." Nora held her scroll away from her face and clamped her hand over her mouth, as she had started crying again. She composed herself quickly and returned to her call. "Just tell him I'm sorry. I didn't mean to act like that."

" _ **I don't think I need to tell him that. I'm sure he understands. But I will anyway if it will make you feel better."**_

"Thanks, Ruby."

" _ **No problem."**_ Nora heard the sound of tires on bumpy terrain, followed by the screech of Ruby's brakes. _**"Well, I made it. Do you want me to stay on here and talk to you?"**_

"No, you go ahead. I would like as many people there as possible since I can't be there right now."

" _ **Alright. I'll talk to you in a bit, okay?"**_

"Okay… Bye, Ruby." Nora hung up without waiting for a response from her friend. Sh placed her scroll beside her and slowly slid down her bed until she was sitting on the floor, with her back pushed up against her mattress.

Her gaze trailed across the room until it stopped at her closet… the closet she shared with _him_. _"Maybe Ruby was right..."_ She pushed herself off the floor and walked over to it. She placed her hand on the small doorknob but stopped just before opening it. She needed to mentally prepare herself. She took a deep breath, then threw the door open.

There it was, his favorite outfit, folded up towards the back of the closet. The long-sleeve, green, button-up shirt he always wore. Underneath it, was a pair of long, light brown pants, with a pair of black shoes underneath that. Nora looked at it and smiled. _"Everyone grew up over the past few years, but he kept the same fashion sense."_

She started to laugh to herself but quickly found that she had a salty taste in her mouth. She reached up and was stunned that she had been crying without realizing it. She stepped into the closet and bent down to pick up the set of clothes. She smiled through her tears as she carried them over to her bed.

Nora laid the clothes down in a way that they would be if someone was wearing them and laying on the bed. First the shirt, the pants below that, then the shoes. She sat down next to them and ran her hands over the pieces of clothing. _"… I really need you right now, you know?"_

She laid down next to the set of clothes and slowly shut her eyes. As she did so, she brought the shirt up to her face and sniffed. _"It still smells like him..."_ Once again, tears began to form on her face. She laid in the same spot,unmoving, until she went to sleep for the second time that day.

* * *

Nora woke up to the sound of someone knocking on her door. She glanced at her scroll and her eyes widened. _"Holy… It's that late already?"_ The knocks continued, but Nora didn't care. She rolled over to stare at the clothes she had previously set out on her bed. She closed her eyes again, only for them to shoot back open upon hearing a few more knocks.

She angrily stood up out of bed and walked to her door. She didn't care who it was. They were about to get an earful. She grabbed the doorknob and jerked the door open. "Look, I don't know who you think you are, but if you think it's okay to come to someone's door this late in the night and-" She immediately calmed down after seeing who it was. "Ruby… What are you doing here?"

Ruby placed her hand behind her back and kicked the ground nervously. "I was worried about you. The service was over a while ago. I tried calling you, but you didn't answer."

Nora scratched the back of her head nervously. "Y-yeah, sorry. I fell asleep earlier."

"Really? That's awesome. You should get as much sleep as you can. After Weiss died..." Ruby's expression grew distant, almost as if she was staring at Nora, but through her at the same time. She hung her head slightly and continued. "Well, let's just say I didn't get a lot of sleep for a while."

Nora nodded, moved aside, and gestured towards the interior of the house. "Do… you want to come in? It's a little messy, but it's not too bad."

"Are you okay with that?"

"I think so. Maybe having someone here will help me cheer up. Hell, it's worth a shot."

"Okay, as long as you don't mind."

Nora shook her head. "Of course not. Now get in here, I know it's cold outside."

Ruby stepped into the apartment and took off a large, red jacket. "Is there anywhere specific you want me to put this?"

"Just throw it over a chair or something. I'll be right back."

Nora quickly walked to her bedroom, glanced one last time at the clothes on her bed, and shut the door. She then made her way back towards Ruby, who had already made herself comfortable by sitting on a couch that her jacket was now draped over.

Ruby noticed her come back and half-heartedly waved to her. "Hey, I hope you don't mind, but I didn't know how long you were going to be gone, and I didn't want to just stand by your door like a creep."

Nora sat at the opposite end of the couch and waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

An uncomfortable silence grew between the two. Ruby started nervously tapping the arm of the couch and her eyes drifted to Nora. "Soooo… How are you holding up?"

"You know you've already asked me that, right?"

"Sorry, I just don't really know what else to say."

"I guess that makes sense." More silence, but Nora was the one to break it this time. "I pulled out his clothes earlier."

"Really?"

"… Yeah."

Ruby leaned forward slightly. "And?"

"It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I mean, it wasn't easy, but… I don't know. It felt nice to just have them near me, I guess."

Ruby grinned. "See, I told you it might help."

Nora looked up at her friend, with a few tears in her eyes. "Ruby, thank you."

The younger woman tilted her hand in confusion. "For what?"

"For just… being there for me. Out of all of our friends, you're the only one I haven't wanted to choke to death at some point over the past week."

"Well, that makes me feel special… I think. And you don't need to thank me. I just know what you're going through, that's all. Besides, you have a lot of people that care about you. If you would talk to them once in a while, it probably wouldn't stress you out so much when they called."

Nora pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. "Yeah, I know that. I feel bad about it, I really do, but I just… can't talk to them sometimes. I feel so bad about it, too, especially about Jaune. I know he means well, but sometimes he is just so clueless that I want to _literally_ beat some sense into him."

The statement made Ruby giggle. "I get that. I think that's the effect he has on everybody, once in a while, anyway."

Nora chuckled. "Well, if that's the case, I guess I don't feel as bad now."

"Well, I'm glad I could make you feel better, even if it was poking fun at Jaune that did it." Ruby pulled out her scroll and glanced at the time. "Holy crap, is it that late already?" She stood up and grabbed her jacket from the back of the sofa. "I should get going."

Nora stood up and grabbed Ruby's arm. "Ruby, wait."

"Yeah?"

"Do you think," She shifted nervously. "That you could stay the night? If not, it's okay. It would just be nice to have someone else in the house for once."

Ruby was looking forward to sleeping in her own bed after such a long day, but she couldn't bring herself to ignore a friend in need. Especially one who was going through as much as Nora was right now. "Yeah, sure. I don't really have to go home tonight. Just let me go grab a few things from my car real quick."

"Okay."

The younger girl walked out the front door and shut it behind her, which left Nora alone with her thoughts. She walked back to her bedroom and looked at the clothes that were spread out on it. She smiled, made her way over to them, and started to fold them.

Less than a minute passed, and she had folded the clothes up, then stacked them. She carried the pile back into her closet, and set it against a wall in the back, directly in view of the door. When she stepped out of her room, the front door opened and Ruby walked in carrying a small bag. "Okay, I'm all set for tonight."

"Thanks. I really appreciate it."

"No problem."

"Do you need anything? There's some milk in the fridge, and probably some food you could eat."

Ruby shook her head. "Nah, I'm alright. I'm actually pretty tired, so I'll probably just get a glass of water or something before I go to bed." She sat down on the sofa and stretched her legs across the cushions. "Man, I'm pretty lucky your couch is so comfortable."

"If you want, you can have the bed. I'll sleep on the couch since your only staying because I asked you to."

"No way. You take the bed. You need as much rest as you can get." Ruby sat up straight and started pulling things out of her bag. "I'll slip out tomorrow morning so I don't wake you up."

"Okay. Thanks again, for staying with me."

"Don't mention it." Ruby looked at Nora and suddenly realized her state of dress. "So, are you gonna change?"

"Huh?" Nora looked down at herself and sighed. "Oh, yeah, I guess I should. I forgot what I was wearing."

"Were you actually going to show up earlier?"

The older woman shrugged. "I thought about it. I got dressed for it, but part of me just ended up reverting back into my 'sleep-til-the-pain's-gone' state." Nora stood up and started to walk towards her bedroom. "I'll be right back."

"I'll be here."

The redhead closed her bedroom door as soon as she was inside the room. She leaned against it and slowly slid down until she hit the floor. She pulled off the pendant she had previously pinned to her shirt and stared at it.

She stood back up and walked over to her dresser. She picked up the small box she had taken it from earlier, and carefully placed it back inside. She then changed out of her black attire and into some shorts and a long shirt. She then opened her door and made her way back to Ruby. "Sorry, I had to take care of something."

"That's fine." That sat in silence for a few moments, until Ruby started to get off the couch.

Nora straightened up and sat on the edge of the sofa. "Where are you going?"

Ruby pointed her thumb towards the front door. "I just remembered that I have something in my car that might help you feel better. I'm gonna run out and grab it."

"Okay."

The front door shut, and Nora could hear the sound of shoes on pavement as Ruby ran out to her car, then the same sound as she returned, followed by the front door opening as Ruby stepped through, a small, brown bag tucked under her arm. She walked over to the couch and presented the bag to Nora as if it were a prize. "Look at what IIII've goooot," she sang.

"Uh… A bag?"

Ruby rolled her eyes and sat down on the couch. "Nope." She slid her hand into the bag and pulled out a dark green bottle. "Wine."

"I thought you said getting drunk would be a bad idea?"

"Psh, I don't know about you, but I'm not gonna get drunk off one bottle of wine if we split it between us. It will just take some of the edge off of today."

"You know I don't normally drink."

"Come on. I promise it will help."

"If you say so..." Nora stood up and walked into her kitchen. She walked over to some cabinets and looked up at them. _"Great, I think the wine glasses are up there."_ She stood on her tiptoes and reached for the handle of the cabinet, only for it to be a few inches out of her her grasp. She hung her head and sighed.

Ruby heard her, then threw her arm over the couch and turned around. "Is something wrong?"

"I… I can't reach the wine glasses."

Ruby stood up and started walking towards the kitchen. "Where are they?"

Nora stuck a finger towards the cabinet. "Up there."

The younger girl's eyes followed Nora's finger until she saw where she was pointing. "...Oh. Who put them way the hell up there?"

"… _He_ did."

Ruby's face dropped and her voice fell to a whisper. "Oh… I'm sorry, I didn't mean t-"

"It's fine, Ruby."

Ruby walked over and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Okay, so it looks like we have two options. We can either drink from regular glasses, which I'm fine with, or we can figure out a way to get the wine glasses and be classy as hell."

Nora smiled. "I think I've got an idea." She stepped back slightly and pointed to the ground in front of her. "Come here and get on your knees."

"Uh..."

"Just trust me."

"… Okay." Ruby walked over to Nora and knelt down.

"Now, hold still."

"What are you go- oomph." Ruby was cut off, as she felt a large amount of weight on her back. "Nora, what are you doing?"

"Relax, I'm gonna grab the glasses real quick." The older woman placed her feet on Ruby's back and slowly stood up. She leaned forward, opened the cabinets, and grabbed the glasses. "Okay, I go-" She suddenly lost her balance and fell to the floor.

In the blink of an eye, Ruby stood up and stopped her descent just before she hit the ground. She successfully caught Nora, but the wine glasses hit the floor and shattered. "Sorry, Nora, I didn't catch the… wine… glasses..." Ruby's voice trailed off as she looked at Nora's face.

Tears were forming in her eyes. "That figures. Whenever I start feeling better, something like this happens…"

"… Nora..."

The redhead shut her eyes and clung to Ruby's shirt. "The dummy put the glasses where I would never be able to reach them. He always liked doing things for me… even though I didn't want him to. I always told him that I could do things myself..."

"It'll be alright." Ruby pulled Nora into a hug and gently stroked the back of her head. "Shh, shh, it will all be okay."

Nora buried face into Ruby's shoulder and sobbed. "He only put them up there so I would ask him for help! H-He nev..." She stopped talking and cried more. Tears streamed down her face, into her mouth and stung the back of her throat. "Why… Why did he have to leave?! He promised me that he would stay with me!"

Ruby started to rock back and forth with Nora in her arms. "I know, I know..."

Nora's grip tightened on Ruby's shirt. "I want him! I need him! He should be here right now!"

"You know that can't happen."

The older woman shook her head violently. "It has to! There has to be a way to get him back!"

"You know that there isn't."

"But I NEED him!" Nora looked up towards the ceiling and screamed. "Do you hear me, you bastard?! Why did you leave me?!" The next thing she felt was a sharp, stinging pain on her cheek. She looked down and noticed Ruby's open hand at her side. She lifted up a hand and touched her cheek _"… What did I just say?"_

Ruby was glaring at her. "Don't talk about him like that. I know you're upset, but that is no excuse. You know that it's not his fault. Apologize."

Nora cried some more and leaned back into Ruby. "You're right… I'm sorry, Ruby."

Ruby grabbed her shoulders, pulled her head up by her chin, and looked into her eyes. She had tears of her own forming. "Not to me… to him."

Nora hung her head as more tears fell. "I-I'm…" She began to shake her head. "I can't."

"Then I'm leaving." Ruby went to stand up, but Nora stopped her.

"No!" Nora cleared her throat and her voice fell to almost a whisper. "I didn't mean to yell at you… Please don't go. I-I'll do it."

Silence grew between the pair, only breaking when Ruby sighed and locked eyes with her friend. "You haven't even said his name since I've been here. Nora… tell him you're sorry. It will help."

Nora wiped her nose with her sleeve and nodded slowly. "I'm..." She then took a deep breath. "I'm sorry... Ren." Nora grabbed at her shorts and gripped them tightly. "I'm so sorry..."

She lunged forward and grabbed onto Ruby's shirt again, her vision blurred by the number of tears running down her face. "I'm sorry, Ren!" Nora balled her hands up into fists and beat lightly on Ruby's chest. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you!"

Tears were now trailing down Ruby's face, as she wrapped her arms around Nora. "Let it out."

The pair sat in silence. The only sound in the apartment being Nora's cries, which slowly subsided as time went on. As they sat on the kitchen floor, Ruby's head kept lowering as her eyes shut, only for her to jerk her head back up and yawn.

She rubbed one eye and stretched. "Nora, I'm sorry, but I think I'm gonna have to go to sleep." She looked at the girl beneath her and smiled. At some point, without Ruby noticing, Nora managed to go to sleep. _"Great, she's asleep."_ She put Nora's arms around her neck, then slid an arm under her legs and picked her up bridal-style.

After she stood up, she attempted to maneuver around every piece of furniture in the rooms between her and the bedroom, careful not to bang the sleeping girl's head on anything. She finally reached her destination and carefully opened the bedroom door. She stepped into the room and looked around.

There were clothes all over the place. It looked like Nora hadn't done the laundry in several days. The cleanest place in the room was the top of Nora's dresser, where a small, black box sat in the middle of it. _"I'll have to take a day to come clean for her… I bet she would like it."_

She made her way over to a messy, king-size bed and gently laid the unconscious woman onto it. Nora grumbled a few times and twitched slightly, then laid still. Ruby reached down towards the foot of the bed and brought the sheets up, then covered Nora up with them. _"Sweet dreams..."_

Ruby brushed a stray hair away from Nora's face, then made her way out of the room. She gently closed the door and let out a sigh. She looked at the rest of the apartment, then pulled out her scroll to check the time. _"Ten-thirty." S_ he shrugged. _"Well, I'm not that sleepy anymore, and it's not like I have anything better to do."_

She walked into the living room and rolled up her sleeves. _"Okay, Ruby, time to get to work."_

* * *

Nora sat up quickly and looked around her room. "Ren!" As reality set in, she rubbed her eyes and yawned. _"That's right… I forgot..."_ She threw the sheets off of herself and placed her feet on the floor. A chill ran up her spine as the bare skin touched the cold floor. _"Cold today too, huh?"_ Then she remembered the previous night. _"… Ruby."_

She opened her bedroom door and stepped out. As she did so, her mouth fell open. She brought her hand up to it and gasped.

Her apartment was spotless. Every piece of furniture, cleaned. Every speck of dust, dusted. All of the stray things strewn throughout the apartment, organized. As she stepped further into her living room, she noticed a small piece of paper in the middle of her coffee table. She walked over to it, picked it up, and smiled as she read it.

 _Hey, Nora. Sorry I couldn't stay until you woke up. I would have, but I had a class to teach today, and I wanted you to get as much sleep as possible. I hope you're not mad at me for leaving. Oh, and in case you didn't notice, I cleaned up a little bit before I left. Hope you like it. Also, I took Yang's whiskey with me. I'll be sure to 'dispose' of it, one way or another. There are a couple breakfast burritos in your fridge, by the way. I figured you would like to have something that you didn't have to cook._

Nora smiled more and continued reading the note, as she walked into her kitchen.

 _Also, I'm gonna come by again in a couple days and clean up that bedroom of yours, It was a disaster. I would have done it last night, but I didn't want to wake you up. Oh yeah, there's some bottled water in your kitchen too. I didn't see any, so I picked you up some. I think that's everything, I guess. Oh, wait… Go by and see him today. I'll tell everyone to stay away so you can be alone. I know it… I know it's easier that way, when you first start going. Anyway, I'll see you in a couple days. See ya, Nora_

 _Sincerely,_  
 _The most awesome friend ever,_  
 _Ruby Rose_

The redhead sat the note down on a counter and opened her fridge. She pulled out one of the burritos Ruby had left her and popped it into a microwave. She pushed a series of buttons to start it, then leaned onto the counter.

She looked down at her feet and let out a long, drawn out breath. _"I guess today's the day."_

The microwave beeped several times, but Nora didn't hear it. She was too busy thinking about what she was going to do today. A few minutes passed, and she finally realized she hadn't moved in a while. She pushed herself off the counter and walked to her microwave.

She pulled out the burrito and held it in her hand, then raised it and took a bite, but quickly spit it out and scrambled for something cold. _"Damn, that's hot!"_ She sat her food down on the counter and opened one of the bottles of water that Ruby had left her.

As she gulped down the water, she swished it around in her mouth, in an attempt to ease the pain her breakfast had caused. She let out a content sigh and closed her eyes. _"It would be great if one thing could go right for me today..."_

She picked her burrito back up and took another bite, careful not to burn herself this time. She chewed for almost a minute and forced herself to swallow. She grimaced as the food slid down her throat and held out the burrito. She stared at it and rolled her eyes. _"Why am I eating this… I'm not even hungry."_

Nora began to walk out of the kitchen. As she crossed the threshold from her kitchen to her leaving room, she tossed the burrito in a trash can and walked to her bedroom. She stepped through the door and walked over to her dresser. She placed her hands on the edge and gently wiped away a small trail of dust. She stretched her shoulders by pressing into the dresser, then groaned.

Her eyes drifted to her left, and she saw a pile of clothes. _"That's right… I put my outfit there last night."_ She walked over to the clothes and held up her black shirt.

One by one, she took the pieces of clothing and laid them out on her bed. When they were all assembled, she took off the shirt that she was currently wearing. _"I might as well get dressed if I plan on seeing him."_

Nora slid off her shorts that she had fallen asleep in the previous night, and took her black skirt off the bed, followed by her shirt, and got dressed in them. She walked over to her closet and pulled out her black high heels. She slipped them on, then made her way out of her bedroom.

She began to walk towards her front door, but turned around and ran back into her bedroom. _"Crap, I almost forgot."_

The redhead walked to the small box on her dresser and opened it. The pendant was shining just as brightly as the day she had gotten. In her mind, it was one of the few bright things left in her life. She carefully took it out of the box and pinned it to her blouse.

She turned and made her way towards the front of her apartment. She grabbed a small, black hat and a set of car keys hanging up by her front door. As she opened the door, she shut her eyes and breathed deeply. It was the first time she had felt the warmth of sunlight in days. She let the feeling sink into her skin for a moment, then walked to her car.

As she reached the vehicle, she glanced one last time at her apartment. She looked at it as though it was her safe haven. Once she left, everything would change. Part of her wanted to go back inside and go back to sleep, but she was determined now. She shook her head in defiance of herself and got into her car, started it, then drove out of the driveway towards the one place she hoped she would never have to go.

* * *

Nora's car screeched to a halt as she pulled up to a closed gate. The gate had a large, metal arch above it, which had the words 'CEMETERY OF VALE' etched into it. She refused to look at the words on it, she knew what they said already, and that was enough.

She got out of her car and forced the gate open. Once she was done, she got back into her car and slowly drove through the new territory.

Nora already knew where she was headed. She had picked out the spot, it was one she knew Ren would have liked. She parked next to a large structure filled with folding chairs and covered with a small roof. The door of her car opened slowly as she stepped out.

She wandered through the area, paying no mind to the headstones around her. She made her way down a narrow path made of gravel that crunched with each step she took. Every time it did so, her eyes began to water.

Before long, she could see a headstone in the distance… _his_ headstone. She walked closer, until she was facing the back of the grave marker. She took a deep breath, then walked around to the front. It took no small amount of effort from her to look down, and as she did, tears started to fall.

 _Here lies Lie Ren_  
 _Loving husband and friend_  
 _1999 – 2034_  
 _"Keep moving forward"_

Nora knelt down next to the grave and reached a hand out, only to pull it back and place it in her lap. Her tears were flowing freely, but she managed to choke out, "H-Hey..." She cleared her throat and continued. "I-It's… uh..."

The longer she sat there, the easier it became for her to talk. "I… I miss you..." She took her pendant off and stared at it. "… Do you remember when you gave this to me? It was a birthday present. You were so proud of yourself, because I was always hard to shop for, but you found something I liked."

She rolled the pendant around between her fingers and smiled. "I never told you this… but I always hated it." She chuckled and pinned it back to her shirt. "But I loved it at the same time, because you were the one that gave it to me. I could never hate something from you..."

"You know what my favorite present from you is, right? I guess it wouldn't be hard to figure out, especially for you..." She twisted a small, gold ring back and forth on one of her fingers. "… I wish I could have stopped this… all of it. It shouldn't be like this." She grabbed a clump of grass next to her and crushed it. "None of this is fair."

The sunlight that once granted her warmth, now faded as clouds moved in front of it. Nora looked up and scoffed. _"That's about right."_

Dark clouds were forming above her, but she didn't care. She had finally mustered the strength to come out here, and nothing was going to make her leave until she wanted to. "I hope you're not mad at me… for the things I said last night. I didn't mean any of it. It's just..." Nora stared at the gravestone longingly. "It's hard without you being here."

She began to feel very light drops of rain every few seconds. "I, um… I've been thinking about moving. I know Weiss spent a lot of money on that apartment, but… I don't know. It's just so… empty." More rain started to fall, and it began to make noticeable pools of water in a few low areas on the ground.

Nora looked up to the sky and let the rain hit her face. After a few moments, she laughed. "You know what? I don't even care. I'm not scared of a little water." The rain started to come down harder, and it was now causing Nora's hat to move slightly, as it hit the brim of it.

She stood up and walked around to the back of the tombstone, then crouched down and leaned against it. She folded her arms around herself and hung her head. "I wish you were here, Ren. I could really use you right now. You were always there for me, no matter what. And you always had a smile on your face..." Nora closed her eyes and sighed. "… even after you could barely get out of bed."

She took off her heels and put her feet in the damp grass, then used her legs to push herself up slightly. "None of this should have happened. I know they said your aura wouldn't help with that sort of thing, but I was hoping it did the whole time. I thought, 'This is crazy, of course, it will work...' I should have listened to the doctors." Nora grinned as a memory popped into her head. "Remember that one time we all got drunk, and I had to hold your hair back while you puked? You looked like a teenage girl at prom."

However, that triggered another memory, one that Nora wished she could forget. "Remember… the last time that happened? I was so scared for you. You were throwing up because of your... treatments." Nora bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes, as her mouth started to tremble and her eyes started to water. "I-I was holding your hair back, then… that big chunk of it came out. I thought I had pulled it out and hurt you really bad, but you just smiled and said you knew it would happen eventually."

She looked at the sky, and could no longer tell how much of her face was covered in tears, and how much was covered in rain. "That was the night we asked Yang to come over, remember? She brought her razor with her, and stayed up all night to make you a wig…"

Nora stood up and put her shoes back on. She walked around to the front of the gravestone and laid down in the grass next to it. "Then, you practically dragged me out of the house to go show it off to everyone. I swear it was like our personalities switched for a while. You were so carefree and outgoing after… after you got sick."

The rain was pouring down now, and Nora was soaked. She inched closer to the gravestone. "It was always strange to me, how the 'treatment' was basically poison. I don't even know how that works, but… I guess it didn't, anyway. That's why you're here..." She closed her eyes and rolled onto her side, then folded her arms and laid her head in the space they created. "Ren, I love you… That will never change."

She sighed, then slowly drifted to sleep, while the rain fell around her.

* * *

Nora bolted upright as an extremely loud rumble of thunder woke her up. She looked around and saw someone holding their hand out to her. She rubbed her eyes and tried to focus on them. "...R-Ruby?"

The brunette was standing in front of her, holding a large umbrella and wearing a long, red, coat. "Come on, I'm not gonna stand here all day."

Nora took her hand and stood up with Ruby's assistance. "What are you doing out here?"

"Well, I went to your house to see how you liked the cleaning job I did, but you weren't home. I figured you were either gone,or didn't want to talk to anybody, so I went home." Ruby handed Nora an umbrella of her own, then continued. "I came by two hours after that, and you still didn't answer. I used your spare key and let myself in, but you weren't home. That's when I went into panic mode. I wouldn't have worried about anything, but it was raining pretty hard already, so I went looking for you."

Nora extended the umbrella and held it up, even though she was already soaking wet. "You didn't need to do that."

Ruby raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Really? Because the way I see it, If I hadn't found you, you would have slept out here until you got sick, or worse."

"I guess you're right. I just… I just wanted to talk to him. I wanted to hear his voice again."

"I know you did." Ruby stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Nora's shoulders. "But you know that can't happen."

"I just… Ruby, I feel like I lied to him..."

"What do you mean?"

Nora broke out of Ruby's loose hold and looked back to Ren's grave. "When he was in the hospital, all I ever told was that he would make it… everything would be okay… Then we would talk about the things we would do when he got better… We were so excited..."

Ruby's arm made it's way around Nora again, but she held her tighter this time. "You were trying to make him feel better, and at the time, both of you wanted to believe every word. Don't think about it as lying, because it's not. You comforted each other in the best way you could, by being happy. Now, you have to carry that out by yourself, but you've got loads of friends to help you through it."

Nora leaned into Ruby's embrace and rested her head on her shoulder. "But… what if-"

"Nope. None of that 'what if' stuff. You are blaming yourself for something that was completely out of all of our hands. It isn't your fault that he got canc-"

"Don't say it… please..."

Ruby took a deep breath and gently pulled Nora closer to her. "It's not your fault that he got… sick, okay? No one could have known something like that would happen. I did the same thing you're doing now, when… you know."

"Weiss?"

"… Yeah."

"I'm starting to feel bad about that. I don't feel like I was there for you nearly enough when she passed, after seeing how you're treating me right now."

Ruby smiled a little. "Don't worry about that. Without all of you guys, there's no telling how I would have ended up. But I accepted it after a while. It took me a long time to come to terms with it, but Weiss and I were huntresses. We both knew the risks when we signed up for the job. She's gone, but I almost feel like she's here with me, in a way."

"What do you mean?"

"Well… like this." Ruby held up the hand that was resting on Nora's shoulder and held out one finger. "I still have her ring on. I can't even remember the last time I took it off. There was something else that helped, too." Ruby started to giggle.

"And what was that?"

"Okay, so for Christmas one year, Weiss got me this god-awful necklace. It was one of the ugliest things I've ever seen. Obviously, I couldn't tell her that, so I said it was gorgeous. I mean, I loved it because she picked it out herself and gave it to me, but man, was it ugly." Ruby's smile faded and her voice grew softer. "When she died, I held on to that thing more than anything else I had. But there was one time... when I visited her grave…"

"What happened?"

"I took the necklace with me like I always did, but there was just something about that day. I had just gotten back from a really tough mission, and I had a lot going on back at home. It was the first time I realized that I NEEDED Weiss back in my life. She was what held me together through all of the tough times that I had to go through."

Ruby stared at her ring. "I went to her grave and bawled my eyes out. I must have been out there for hours, asking her to come back, then I had an idea. I went back to my house and grabbed a really long wire, like the ones I use when I'm working on Crescent Rose. You know the ones I'm talking about?"

The older woman nodded.

"Well, I got some of that wire, and fed it through an opening in the necklace, then wrapped it around the base of her headstone, and I left it there. I left something behind that was one of the last few ways I could connect with Weiss, even though she was gone. And, honestly, it helped me let go of her. I mean, I still love her, and I don't think I'll ever be able to love someone like that again, but I needed to move on. She wouldn't have wanted me to let something like that control my life, y'know?"

Nora looked down at the pendant on her shirt. "Y-Yes… I think I understand."

A loud crack of thunder made Ruby look to the sky. "Well, I think this storm is getting worse. We should probably head back."

"D-Do you... think you could come over for a while?"

"Sure, I need to finish cleaning, anyway. Your room was destroyed." Ruby started to walk towards her car, but Nora stopped her.

"Hang on, I'll be right back." Nora walked to Ren's grave and tore off a long piece of her skirt. She folded it in half then took off the lotus pendant on her shirt. She tied the fabric around the bottom of the pendant, then tied it to the bottom of his headstone. "I think I'm gonna go home, okay, Ren? I'll come see you again soon."

She stretched out her hand and gently pushed one finger onto the headstone. "… Boop." She stood up and wiped her eyes with her sleeve, then turned to Ruby. "Okay, let's go."

Ruby nodded, then gestured towards her car. "We can take my car, I'll bring you back up here to get yours tomorrow."

"Thanks."

Ruby looked at Nora over the top of the car. "Are you gonna be okay?"

Nora turned around and looked in the direction of Ren's grave one last time, then smiled and nodded. "Actually... Yeah, I think I will be."

The redhead opened the car door and lowered herself into the passenger seat. Ruby shut her door and turned to the woman next to her. "So, what now?"

An audible growl came from Nora's stomach. "Actually, do you think we could go get some food? I'm starving."

Ruby smiled and shifted her car into reverse. "Sounds good to me." She slowly backed out of the cemetery, while Nora stared into the direction of Ren's grave.

Once they were on the main road, Nora stared at the gate of the cemetery until it was out of view. _"Ren... I miss you, but I think I'm going to be okay. It will just take some time to get used to things, I guess. That's exactly how you would want it. I love you, and I always will..."_ She looked at the small ring on her finger and closed her eyes. _"Goodbye."_

* * *

 **Hey there, everybody.**

 **So, this is something that's been scratching at my brain for a while now, and I finally decided to write it. However, I have never written anything like this before, so it would be great to have some feedback. If anyone has any tips or advice on how to improve my writing style, I'm more than willing to listen.**

 **This was originally going to be a good bit longer, but the more I wrote it, the shorter it got. I'm pretty happy with the finished product, though. This is only the second fanfiction I've ever written, so any constructive criticism that I could carry over to future stories is more than welcome.**

 **And if you're a fan of WhiteRose, go check out my other story A Snowstorm in Summer. If you're interested in anything I write in the future, that will give you a good idea of what to expect from me. It's rough in the beginning, I know, but it does get better as it goes on, in my opinion, anyway. As of posting this story, it's still going, so any helpful advice on there would be much appreciated.**

 **Anyway, I guess that's all from me. I'll see you guys and gals next time.**

 **:D**


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